**Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me so long to continue. College puts a little damper on my time. I have this story, another story and for some odd reason I am starting another one. Ahhhh! But I will try to get chapters out as soon as possible. Just keep reviewing. And Prophetess...e-mail me and tell me about your character and I will see what I can do.
Chapter Six: Interviews
I woke to a tap on my shoulder at eight a.m. the next morning. 'OK, maybe I'm not as excited as I thought I was.' "Can't I have five more minutes?" I didn't hear an answer so I went back to sleep. Soon I felt another tap. I rolled over and saw Nimby. He shook his head. I groaned and started to sit up but everything started to go black and I got dizzy. "Wow, I sat up too fast. Gosh I hate that." Nimby just nodded. I finally sat all the way up and Nimby went and opened the door. I could smell the scent of food wafting through to my door. "That smells really good. I'm getting up I promise." I managed to pull my self out of bed. "I need to get dressed first." Nimby shook his head no. "I don't?" He shook his head again and started towards the door. So I followed figuring that's what he wanted. As we headed down the stairs the smell of the food grew stronger. It was a familiar smell yet it had foreign qualities to it. She wondered what it was as they entered the kitchen. Chlorine turned around.
"Good Morning, Averia. How was your night? I hope you slept well. Here, sit down and have some breakfast and then I'll help you get ready. I am very glad you didn't try to dress yourself." I turned and looked at Nimby who just nodded, knowingly, which he had a right to do since he had known.
"Oh, I slept wonderfully." Chlorine set a plate down in front of me. "What is this?" It looked somewhat like eggs and toast.
"Eggs and Toast." She set something in front of me. "Here, this is a butterfly, you use it to butter your toast." I figured they must have bread and chickens in Xanth but when I bit into the eggs I noticed they tasted much better than the eggs in Mundania.
"What, exactly are these eggs from?"
"Oh, they are dragon eggs, a delicacy. We usually don't have them but figured since today is special we could."
'Dragon eggs? What in the world?' I was slightly appalled but they were really good. I realized that if I was going to live in Xanth I had to get used to new things. So I kept my thoughts to myself and continued to eat. "It's very good Chlorine. Thank you again, you and Nimby both, for taking me in. It means a lot to me." I looked down at my plate, slightly embarrassed at letting my feelings show.
"Oh, we love having you hear. We are very glad to finally meet you. As Turn Key said, you are as much our child as you were Edsel and Pia's. We are just so glad to have you here, right Nimby?" She looked at him and he nodded. "Now finish up so you can get ready." I did as she said and soon found myself upstairs going through much the same routine as I had the day before, only this time the dress was purple. That made a little more excited since purple is my favorite color. When we were done I looked in the mirror.
"Wow, this must be a magic mirror." I speculated aloud, thinking there was no way I could ever look like the image I saw in front of me.
"Oh No" Chlorine said. "This is a regular mirror. Our magic mirror is downstairs." She looked confused that I even had to ask. Then I remembered that they had mentioned it when we were deciphering my talent. Something about Magic Mirrors answering questions. "Come now, we need to get going." I followed Chlorine to the town center, with Nimby bringing up the rear. There was a huge crowd gathered and I wondered what was going on. But I had to watch Chlorine closely so as not to get lost. We entered a tent and Chlorine had me sit behind a desk with three chairs. I was to sit in the middle and Nimby sat on my right. Chlorine stayed standing. "I am going to make the announcement that interviews will start. Then I will join you." She left the tent and I began to feel very nervous about the whole thing. I heard her voice through the tent flaps. "Hello everyone and thank you for coming. Please form a line and start to fill out these information sheets. We will call you each in for a quick interview, then a list of finalists will be posted. If you are on that list you will be interviewed again." I heard the rustle of people adjusting and the mumble of voices. Chlorine came back in. "There are a lot of people out there. I hope we find someone. This is going to take awhile. Ok, well I think they've had enough time to start filling out the paper, so here we go." She once again exited the tent. "OK, we are going to start now. Sir, you may come in." Chlorine returned again, this time with a man behind her. I judged him to be about thirtyish. Chlorine sat down next to me and reached out for the man's paper. She read it aloud. "Name: Orville Vertmore. Age: 35. Talent: Creating a bounty of food at any time." At this point I looked in his eyes and saw the frowning cherub. I turned to Chlorine and opened my mouth. She saw me out of the corner of her eye and put up her hand. "Is this your true talent mister Vertmore?"
"Yes." He said but he looked nervous. I looked in his eyes and saw a bunch of green popcorn. I once turned to Chlorine, who once again put up her hand.
"Thank you, Mr. Vertmore. Check the list to see if you made the cut." He left. "Now, Averia, you may speak. I had to keep you quiet so you wouldn't reveal your talent. So what did you see?"
"Well, I think his talent has something to do with Green Popcorn." Chlorine laughed. Nimby nodded.
"Ok, he goes in the trash." She threw his paper on the ground next to her. Then she yelled. "Next" And the next man walked in. The process continued with Nimby and I verifying truth or lies. After a few hours Averia felt her stomach start to rumble.
"Hey, can we take a lunch break or something? I am starting to get really hungry."
"Sounds good to me." Chlorine got up and left the tent. "We will now take a break for lunch. We will resume the interviews in an hours time." She then closed the Tent flap and came back in. "I will go with Nimby to get us all something. STAY HERE!" It was odd to be treated like a child again. I wasn't used to it anymore.
"I will." And I actually had every intention of doing so. I mean, where would I go? They left and I sat...and sat...and then I heard a noise. But I still was going to stay there. Then something hit the side of the tent so naturally I had to go and investigate. I walked to the side of the tent and lifted the edge. Laying there was probably THE hottest guy I had ever seen. He looked up at me and then rolled under the flap.
"Hi." He smiled and started to stand. "My name is Galahad. Can I hide here?"
'My gosh, but he is the hottest guy I have ever seen.' I composed myself and said. "Hi, I'm Averia, and Yes. So, who are you hiding from?"
"My father. He wants me to go and interview to be an escort for some 'Damsel-in-Distress' and I don't want to deal with that. I mean, who wants some whiney Bleep around all the time."
"Excuse me, did you just say Bleep?"
"Yes, you must be underage thus the adult conspiracy forbids you from hearing bad words. But like I was saying, I don't want to do it. Not at all."
"Well, how do you know that the girl would be that bad?"
"How could she not? Any girl that needs an 'escort' must be pretty stupid and girly."
"Well, I resent that comment! I am not a whiny, stupid, or girly young lady! I just moved here from Mundania so I don't know anything about the country. This was not my idea it was my guardians so will you stop saying all this Bleep about how 'annoying' girls are?"
"Wait, you are the girl."
"Well aren't you a quick one." I was absolutely furious by now. I mean, how dare he say these things?
"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I didn't know."
"Well, I would hope not cause if you did know and had said it it would have been even stupider."
"You're right."
"Of course I am."
"You know, maybe it wouldn't be so bad escorting you around Xanth after all. I mean, you are smart, funny and REALLY hot."
"Well, thank you, I guess, but what makes you think that I would pick you to come with me anyway? You are a chauvinistic presumptuous, and just flat out rude male and your looks can't change the fact that I cannot stand you even though I have only known you for five minutes. So you can leave now and go back to your father and tell him that you did try after all but because you are such a Bleep she wanted nothing to do with you." I spun around and went to walk away but I felt him grab me and then turn me around so I was facing him. Then he pulled me close and kissed me. I started to pull away but then I found myself succumbing to him. I began to kiss him back and it was the most amazing thing I had ever experienced. I had never felt like that before. Then he let me go and without a word left the tent. I could not BELIEVE that he had just done that. I sat down hard on the chair just as Chlorine and Nimby returned. "Hi"
"Are you OK Averia? You look...odd."
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little hungry."
"Well here." She handed me a plate. On it was some meat substance. I tried it and it tasted similar to Barbeque chicken, I knew better already not to ask what it really was. It was good. "So are you ready to continue?"
"Sure, lets go." And so things went on as they had before, except I found it absolutely impossible to concentrate. All I could think about was Galahad and his kiss. The men continued to file through the tent but no one seemed right. And then I saw him. I smiled and felt my heart rise into my throat. He handed his paper to Chlorine.
"Name: Galahad Wielder. Age: 18. Talent: Perfection in the Art of Swordsmanship." Chlorine looked at me and I realized that she wanted verification. I looked in his eyes and saw the smiling cherub. I nodded. I looked again into his gorgeous eyes just to stare into them and saw something else. It was the image of us, together, kissing. I realized that he was thinking about me and got the chills. Chlorine continued the interview but I wasn't listening. Then I heard her say, "Thank you. Your are now excused. Remember to check the list." She turned toward Nimby who nodded. "So he's the guy. Must we continue?" Nimby shook his head. "Good." She went outside and announced that she was sorry but all interviews were closed. Then she came in and told Nimby to go and fetch Galahad. He left silently. "So, do you approve of our choice?"
"Yes, very much. He seems to meet all of the criteria."
"You think he is good looking, yes?" I blushed and Chlorine smiled knowingly. "So have you figured out what you are going to ask the Good Magician yet?"
"No, but I'm sure I'll think of something. Hey Chlorine, what is your talent?"
"Poisoning water."
"Oh. That's interesting. But I can't seem to imagine someone as beautiful and happy as you poisoning anything."
"Well, I have to tell you something. This is not what I look like. When in this form I am Ideal or I Chlorine. I am really an ugly and mean spirited girl but Nimby helped me be who I really want to through his magic."
"But this is who you are now, yes? I mean, sure, you may not be beautiful but I don't believe that Nimby could really change your personality."
"You know, you may be right. I never really thought about it like that. But I am always unhappy when he is away."
"That's because you are in love with him. That's what love does." Chlorine looked pensive so I knew that she was thinking about what I said.
"You are a very wise girl Averia."
"Thank you." I saw the tent flap flutter and realized that Nimby must be returning with Galahad. Immediately a smile pasted itself on my face. "Hi."
"Hello again." He smiled and I laughed realizing that Nimby and Chlorine had no clue about what happened before. "Well, what is the next step of this interview process?"
"There isn't anymore. You are the chosen one." I smiled as Chlorine said those words. The realization dawned on me that he and I would be traveling together, alone, for the next few days.
"Oh, well when do we set off?"
"Tomorrow morning. For now we will leave you two alone to get to know each other." They turned and left the room. I looked at Galahad. We quickly walked towards each other and he caught me up in another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. We finally broke apart and I just stood there trying to catch my breath.
"I thought you weren't going to pick me."
"I thought you weren't coming back."
"Don't avoid my comment."
"I didn't pick, Chlorine and Nimby did."
"Why didn't you slap me when I kissed you? That's the 'Maidenly' thing to do?"
"I am not 'Maidenly'. I thought you knew that by now. And now who's avoiding things?"
"I didn't want to face my father. he'd know I didn't try my hardest. Now be quiet and let me kiss you again." So I did, and he did. Then I reached up and slapped him. "What was that for?"
"Just trying to be 'Maidenly' that's all." I put on my best innocent look. "I'm curious though. Why did you kiss me?"
"I told you before, you are smart and funny and REALLY hot. Why wouldn't I kiss you?" I didn't say anything. Instead I just kissed him again. But this time he pulled away from me. "We're supposed to be getting to know each other. I still know nothing about you."
"Yes you do. You know I am an excellent kisser."
"Are all Mundane girls like you?"
"No."
"Good, I don't think guys could handle more than one of you."
"But you can?"
"Of course." He leaned forward to kiss me but I put up my hand to stop him.
"We're getting to know each other remember? So where are you from?"
"Here. Born and Raised in the North Village of Xanth. My turn. How'd you come to Xanth from Mundania?"
"My parents died and it turns out I have four biological parents. Chlorine and Nimby are my second set. It's confusing. Why are you afraid of your Father?"
"His talent is fury. If he gets mad enough he unleashes his fury and it burns my rear. Hurts like heck. Do you have a talent?"
"Yes." I could tell he was about to ask what it was and didn't know if I was allowed to tell so I just kissed him instead.
"You're avoiding my next question aren't you?"
"Yes. But only cause I don't know if I am allowed to tell you yet. I will if I can, OK?" He nodded. "Anyway, it's my turn to ask a question. Are you glad you did what your father said?"
"Yes. I have never been so happy in my life." He kissed me again. "My turn again. How will we get anywhere if we can't keep are hands off each other for more than a minute?"
"I don't know. Are you going to ask a question?"
"If it means spending a year's service with you then yes. Definitely." I smiled and we kissed again.
